


there's nothing like these silver nights with you

by afire



Series: they say home is where your heart is [1]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Domestic Bliss, F/F, Future Fic, Kidfic, Post canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 09:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9065257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/afire
Summary: A little glimpse into how the Matthews-Hart family celebrates Christmas.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BerryliciousCheerio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerryliciousCheerio/gifts).



> All credit for the kid's names goes to Brandi, whom this fic is for. Happy holidays and have a wonderful New Year!

"Mom says to share these cookies with me before Tori and Kat eat them all," his sister says, holding the plate under his face. Alex laughs and obediently takes one, pushing the cardboard box of ornaments aside before sitting on the floor and taking a bite.

Mel flops unceremoniously to the ground next to him and just manages to keep all the cookies on the plate. She stretches out on her stomach, kicking her legs up behind her, "What're you doing?"

"Decorating the Christmas tree," Alex says in reply, learning back on one arm as he gestures to the bare pine tree standing in front of them. They had managed to convince Mom to get a real tree this year and Alex breathes in deeply, relishing in the fresh pine scent that's settling in the room. "Do you think we should go with blue or red?"

Mel chews thoughtfully on a cookie, and Alex almost laughs when he sees how seriously she's taking the question. He leans forward to pick up one ornament of each colour, holding them both up on either side of his cheeks, and pivoting so that his back is facing the tree, "What do you think, Mel?"

"I like both," Mel says, stuffing the entire cookie into her mouth and dusting off her hands, reaching for the ornaments. Alex relinquishes them and reaches for another cookie, watching as she crawls over to the tree and holds them up next to the branches, head on a swivel as she tries to decide which one is better.

Alex picks up the plate that's on the floor and deposits it on the coffee table before crawling over and sitting cross-legged next to her, but before he can say anything, someone shouts his name and he's tackled from behind by two very warm bodies in quick succession.

"Alex!" They both yell, and he winces because they're both conveniently close to his ears.

"Hey guys," he says, reaching back so he can pull his younger twin sisters away from the side of his face and anymore unfortunate incidents. His ears are still ringing when Mel slides over and nudges Tori and Kat away, holding up both ornaments and jerking her head toward the tree.

"I think we should just use both," she says, "red _and_ blue, because they're both pretty and together they'll make the tree really pretty."

"Red!" Tori says, loudly, making a mad grab for the ornament in question, which Mel yanks away. She then quickly stands up so that Kat doesn't get any similar ideas. Alex gets to his feet and picks up the cardboard box, allowing Mel to place the red and blue ornaments they were using as examples before depositing the box on the dining table in the adjacent room. Ma will kill him, and then make him clean up the mess if any ornaments get broken.

He's dusting his hands off as he walks back, and laughs when he sees Mel flat on her back on the floor, the twins sitting on her left side, closer to the coffee table and steadily making their way through the plate of cookies.

"Defeated again?"

Mel sighs, blindly reaching for a cookie and placing it on her face. "They're your problem now," she says, as if Tori and Kat aren't still practically sitting on her.

"Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there," Alex retorts, padding over flopping down next to her, flinging his arm over his eyes, "but if that's the case then they're Ma's problem now."

"Over my dead body, they're not my problem during the holidays, I'm only responsible during the school year."

Both Alex and Mel sit up, laughing when they see Mom pad out of the kitchen and thwack Ma on the head with a Santa hat. "Maya! They're your daughters too!"

Ma makes a grab for the Santa hat, pulling it over her head and covering her messy blonde curls before crossing her arms petulantly. "Hey! The tree's still bare," she says when she looks around the room, probably just to change the subject. Alex can totally see where Mel gets it from.

"Yeah, sorry, we were deciding whether to go with red or blue," Alex says.

"We decided on both," Mel adds, finishing the last of her cookie. Tori and Kat have finished all but one from the plate and are now in a heated game of Chopsticks to decide who gets the last one.

Ma gets this unreadable expression on her face and Alex frowns, because he's been getting better at predicting when his parents are going to start on a lecture and immediately make an excuse to get out of there. Mom can tell what's going on, though, and Alex stomachs half a minute of Ma just looking at the tree, and Mom looking at _her_ with this soft look in her eyes before he's had enough.

"Okay! We're decorating the tree now, someone has to distract them," he says, pointing at Tori and Kat, who have finished the entire plate of cookies, crumbs and all, "not me!" He adds quickly, getting to his feet and padding into the kitchen to retrieve the box of ornaments.

He hears both Ma and Mel say, "Not it!" at the same time, and then their laughter when Mom replies with, "You guys are so lucky we made more cookies, and the TV is in the other room."

When Alex gets back to the tree, cardboard box in hand, Mel is standing with her hands on her hips, contemplating the branches, while Ma sits on the ground next to her, trying to untangle the lights.

Alex sets the box down and collapses to the ground, "I'll trade you," he says, pushing it toward Ma and gesturing to the lights, "you know I'm better at the more delicate stuff anyway."

Ma rolls her eyes, but the movement is softened by the smile on her face as she ruffles Alex's hair and pushes the lights toward him, "I'll have you know, hanging ornaments up is _very_ delicate. They're all glass."

He reaches up to pat his hair down, grinning mischievously, "Mom'll kill you if any of them break."

"Nah, she loves me," Ma says, with ease and an air of confidence that Alex can't quite say he sees when she's talking about anything else. He knows he definitely lucked out in the parental department, because as much as they bicker and tease each other, he knows Mom and Ma love each other a lot, and that's more than can be said for some of his friends' parents.

"Ma! I'll do red and you do blue and we'll see who finishes first," Mel says, jumping up and reaching for the box before she even finishes the sentence.

"Hey! That's cheating!"

Alex laughs as he gets to work on the lights, watching as Ma and Mel dart around the tree. The competitive streak runs in the family, and sometimes it's the cause of fights and arguments, but right now, as his mother and sister race each other to see who can put ornaments on the tree the fastest, of all things, he can't help but love it.

*******

Alex would deny it if anyone ever asked him, but he's the first one downstairs on Christmas morning. There's just something about the soft sunlight that's filtering past the curtains into the lounge room where the tree is standing that makes everything feel special. Also there's a bunch of presents under the tree with his name on them and he's at least eighty-six percent sure one of them is the guitar he's been talking about for months.

He's sitting at the table with a mug of hot chocolate and a plate of leftover Christmas cookies when he hears soft footfalls on the stairs.

"Hey Mom," he says softly, not wanting to break the softness in the room right now with his (occasionally) overwhelmingly loud voice. He can't help it, he has lots of opinions to share and things always run smoother when he's telling people what to do. "Merry Christmas," Alex continues with a grin.

"Merry Christmas, Alex," she says, smiling at him and ruffling his hair as she walks past, going for the cupboard with the mugs and starting the coffee maker. "You're up early today."

"Mom, I have _always_ been an early riser," he jokes, grinning widely as he waves a cookie around

His mother laughs, rolling her eyes, and Alex can tell it's something she didn't use to do, probably picked it up from Ma and her sarcastic tendencies. "I literally have to roll you out of bed to wake you up on school mornings."

"School mornings don't count!"

A noise sounds from the stairs and they both look up. Alex chuckles when he sees his Ma, wrapped in the oversized comforter and rubbing at her eyes blearily. "Riles?"

"Hey peaches, want some coffee?"

Ma nods slowly before shuffling toward the table and taking a seat next to Alex, he smiles into his cup at the casual use of nicknames, reaching for another cookie. "Morning Ma, Merry Christmas," he says, before his parents can spend the next hour just staring dreamily at each other.

"Oh hey Alex, you're up early."

"So are you!" He says indignantly, because Mom usually wakes up at a proper human time but both he and Ma make it a habit of waking up past noon and eating waffles for lunch, so really, she can't say anything.

"It's Christmas," Ma says, "everyone wakes up early." She pauses, frowning as she reaches across Alex for a cookie, "Except the twins, I hope."

"Mel will be up soon," Alex adds, because he had heard some shuffling around when he was in the bathroom, which is the closest to Mel's. He supposed she was up and getting ready.

As if on cue, Mel comes bouncing down the stairs in her fluffy pink slippers and a Santa hat. She stops at the bottom, squinting at the lot of them before shrugging and taking a seat on Alex's other side. "Mornin'," she says, ignoring his glare as she takes one of his cookies a well, "Merry Christmas."

Mom sits opposite them with two cups of coffee, pushing one toward Ma, who takes a sip and immediately looks a hundred percent more awake. Her eyes are actually fully open now. "What do you guys wanna do today?" Mom asks, smiling softly at the three of them, in various states of sleepiness.

Both Alex and Mel look pointedly at the tree, decked out in red and blue and multicoloured lights, as well as the pile of presents stacked underneath them. Mom laughs before turning to Ma, "They get this from you."

"What? Knowing what they want and going for it? Yeah, I guess that was always me," Ma says in reply, amusement evident on her face.

They all know how Mom and Ma met, and subsequently how they got together, it's one of those stories that no one ever remembers telling but somehow everyone knows. Alex is going to turn fifteen next June and he knows his best friend, Jake, is going to be right there with him when it happens, but he also knows that Mom and Ma have always been more than just best friends, and there was something between them that was special, more than friendship or even romance.

Alex sees how they look at each other, the casual intimacy that can only come with someone you've known for so long they feel like an extension of yourself. He knows they met when they were five and have been basically inseparable since, even through arguments and fights and that awful incident that none of them are ever allowed to talk about, other than whispers from Pop about _"that boy"_ and how he almost ruined everything.

He knows Ma has been in love with Mom for practically her entire life and had asked her to senior Prom in the most extravagant and romantic way ever. They still have the pictures, in one of the leather-bound photo albums underneath the coffee table in the TV room, Alex cracks it open from time to time, if only to see his Mom laughing as Ma twirls her around, and the both of them standing on stage with matching crowns and wide grins, their arms around each other.

He supposed that's what Ma is referring to as she smirks at Mom over the rim of her coffee cup.

"I was totally going to say something," Mom retorts, "really, you just beat me to it."

"Sure," Ma says, dragging the word out and swirling her coffee around as she gazes up at the ceiling.

"I beat you to the proposal," Mom says, grinning in the way she always does when she's pleased with herself. Alex has seen that exact smile on numerous occasions, including but not limited to when she successfully baked a batch of cupcakes, the time she parallel parked perfectly, and when she managed to fix the heater without calling anyone.

"Oh my god, I _had_ the ring, you beat me to it by like, five hours, maybe," Ma says, "although I don't know if I would have been able to propose, seeing as you took the liberty to find my ring in addition to yours."

"Technically, I found mine," Mom says, raising her left hand and wriggling her fingers with a cheeky grin.

"You are so lucky I love you," Ma grumbles, taking another sip of her coffee.

Mom's gaze softens and Alex thinks they have thirty seconds to distract their parents before they start making out right there, he glances at Mel and can see that she's come to the same conclusion. They both stand up at the same time, pushing their chairs back and dashing toward the lounge room, "Presents!"

Alex can hear Ma laughing behind them, and he can imagine the quiet amusement on Mom's face, but he figures he can give them a couple minutes of alone time while he and Mel sort out the presents. More, if he actually gets that guitar.

*******

He doesn't know why, but they always end up at the park on Christmas Day. There's probably some sort of emotional backstory concerning his parents about this place but, like, they have emotional backstories behind just about every famous place in New York City. He's pretty sure that's the reason they visit Central Park so much.

Well, emotional backstory or not (his mothers can be such teenagers, he's supposed to be the one with all the teen angst) it's not going to stop Alex from starting a snowball fight, which he's doing right now, flinging one at Ma before diving down behind a snowbank.

Mel joins his team immediately and he grins at her, they didn't really get along when they were younger, but now that they're a little more grown up, he finds himself on his sister's team more often than not. It's nice to have someone to fall back on if anything goes wrong, and he knows Mel will always be there for him, regardless of age.

There's a squeal of laughter before they're joined by Kat, who peeks up above the snowbank and sticks her tongue out at Tori in a gesture of defiance. Alex and Mel are always on the same team, Tori and Kat not so much. He supposed that splits them up pretty evenly so he's not going to complain.

Alex glances up and meets Mel's gaze in silent communication and she springs to work making the snowball, he has a stronger arm and better aim, while she's much better at packing the snow into compact balls to be thrown. Kat bounces up and down excitedly next to them and Alex squints at her before getting to his knees to see what's happening on the other side.

He ducks back down immediately when a snowball comes flying his way, spattering apart on the edge of the snowbank. He's pretty sure he saw Ma crouching behind a snowbank of her own, with Mom standing next to her, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. There's a soft thump and Alex knows Ma just pulled her down so she's less of a target.

He reaches for a snowball from the growing pile that Mel is shelling out like a well-oiled factory machine, watching as Kat copies his action with an adorably determined grin on her face. Alex can see the top of someone's hat poking up from behind the other snowbank and he aims for that, laughing when there's a shout of surprise and the hat disappears, only to be replaced by Tori's indignant face.

"Now!" Alex whisper-yells to Kat, and she stands up and throws her snowball as hard as her little eight year-old body can. It doesn't travel as far as Alex's does, but it hits the top of the snowbank right below Tori's face, and that's as good as a victory.

There's a muffled yell and a thump and Alex pulls Kat down next to him before Ma can get revenge. He turns to Mel, seeing her working on another snowball. "Hey, I'm going rogue," he says, grabbing as many snowballs from the pile as he can comfortably carry.

Mel levels a stare at him before nodding and shuffling over so she can take the position he just vacated, next to Kat, and grabbing a snowball of her own. "Be safe," she says seriously, like he's going off to a war instead of just sneaking around the perimeter so he can ambush the rest of their family.

"Yes ma'am," he says in reply, grinning when he sees her lips curve into a reluctant smile before saluting the both of them and proceeding to crawl out from behind the snowbank and duck behind a tree before Ma can spot him out in the open and start pelting him with snow.

He repositions himself so that he won't drop any of the snowballs before giving Mel a thumbs-up and starting the army crawl to the other end of the little clearing. Alex figures anyone else who's out today can just deal with their family's particular brand of fun.

He makes it halfway across when he drops a snowball. Alex curses softly under his breath before thanking god Mom isn't here to force him to drop a dollar in the swear jar. Half of the bills in there are from him and Ma, he supposes maybe they're a little too alike.

That's exactly the reason he picks up speed with renewed vigour, sneaking behind the tree that's right next to the other snowbank. He can see Mom leaning back against it, making snowballs at her own pace while Ma and Tori both crouch behind the bank, peeking up over the edge.

Alex's phone buzzes in his pocket and he freezes, but no one else he heard it. He digs it out with frozen fingers, seeing a message from Mel on the lockscreen. They're out of ammo and need time to make more so if he's going to finish his mission, he better do it now.

Alex sends her eye emoji thrice before pocketing the phone, looking down into his lap and seeing that he has four snowballs, so he better make them count.

He realises, afterward, that yelling "You have the right to remain silent!" probably wan't the best course of action, but in the moment he did kinda feel like a cop, and also he's been watching a lot of Brooklyn Nine-Nine these days.

Alex jumps out, pelting all snowballs one after another and laughing when he hears indignant squawks. He can see Mel and Kat running toward them out of the corner of his eyes, both holding a snowball in each hand. He jumps up triumphantly, "We have you surrounded," he says, in a fake deep voice, "hands up and drop your weapons."

Okay so maybe a _little_ too much Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Kat spoils the moment by yelling in delight and chucking both her snowballs at Ma before running and jumping on top of her. Alex looks at Mel, who shrugs before throwing her snowballs as well, sliding over to pile herself on top of Mom.

Alex laughs as Tori decides to join the impromptu huddle, then thinks _what the hell_ and drops to the ground next to them, eyes widening at the sudden coldness of the ground that's seeping through his jeans.

"We win!" He says, punching his fist into the sky before granting Mel's request for a high-five.

"Only because you _cheated_ ," Ma grumbles, but he can tell she doesn't really mean it, because her eyes are twinkling in the way they do when she's really happy. Alex knows because they have the same eyes.

"All's fair in love and war," he says, "right Mom?"

His mom raises an eyebrow at him before smiling and pulling him close, so the six of them are just huddled together on the ground behind a snowbank in Central Park. "You know I want to say yes, but then your Ma will demand a rematch," she says, turning to look at Ma in that gooey way that almost always serves as a precursor for making out.

"No kissing in public!" Alex says, launching his body so it's lying in the middle of the both of them. "There are children here!"

He hears Ma laughing, but when he rolls over onto his back, Tori and Kat make it their business to sit on his stomach, and Mel joins them, flopping onto his chest with an exaggerated sigh.

"Help!" He says, waving his arms around.

"You're on your own, slugger," he hears Ma say, and then he hears her hiss, probably because Mom just thumped her on the shoulder.

It's cold and his jeans are definitely soaked through, but right here, with his sisters sitting on top of him and his parents looking at the lot of them with matching expressions of amusement on their faces, Alex wouldn't rather be anywhere else.

**Author's Note:**

> y'all can find me at my [tumblr](taylorswift.co.vu), have a blessed 2017!!!!


End file.
